The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-03-19

den was ABSENT supervisor NoI'oh pre-
sented minority report, signed by him
self stating that he had examined the bill
presented before him and finds from the
sheriir's statement that he had hired The
work done at 81 90 per day; that there
were liz pieces per week, and that In hi
judgment, with the appliances furnished
one person ought, in one day, do the wash
ing for week and as the bill was mo-
tented and in proper form he could moi
recommend its payment. In open boart
the Norton report was rejected by vote OF
- TO TO- Supervisor Ford then moved tC
allow S1j, instead of $50 reported by com
mittee. The motion was defeated and So
allowed.
At the December meeting NJ essrS Reed
Gum, Bowen and Madden presented q
scale of prices for washing which was
adopted. AT the same meeting the sheriff
presented bill of Sl4j A., which the com
mittee cut down TO sS2 90, Since that time
the scale of prices then adopted has been
in vogue.
This Is all there is to the wash bill mat
some reasons that suggest themselves tc
me at this time in reply thereto. And the
first answer, Is because for the last twenty
years: we have been hugging the cour'
house, and we have cliques and rings thai
are still hugging 1t. This has given us the
present unsightly structure now on the
center of the square, looking more like an
ancient brick lime kiln with galvanized
iron frieze, than anything else / can now
think of, the building Of which has nearly
bankrupted the county, while the owners OF
property surrounding the square find their
property lessened In value to the extent OF
some so per cent on the east side, about &c
per cent on property on the south side
about 20 per cent. on property on the north
and west sides of said structure and II
may seem odd that cannot At this time
think of but one man doing business
around the square that is particularly Inter
ested In manufactures. The extent &c
which this hugging the court house square
is carried is truly surprising and the num-
Der of men who are engaged in cliques and
rings to support 1t is more surprising still
and the city council do but very little tina,
has not the court house rs Its central point
and the wishes of those surrounding the
square as the motive force. Now allow he
to digress little and refer TO the location
of the post Office here, or rather the re- loca
ton of the post office on its present site
the final papers for which came on Wed
nesday LAST. l suppose the most of my
readers know something about the fight
between those interested in its present site
and those we all know who they are) who
wanted 1t located on some of the depre-
ciated property south and east of the court
house, which they could put in at nomi.
nal sum, and did So when they knew, or
ought to have known, that the government
would accept of nothing but central loca.
ton, and forced the residents around the
present site TO pay the government some
$4,000 which, had it not been for these
fellows hugging the court house, would
have been saved to Ottawa's wealth. Well,
duriyg this fight over the post office site,
those interested in retaining the present
location had an actual count of dwelling
houses in Ottawa made, sworn to, and sent
to Washinton, and where do you think this
count located the center of Ottawa A lit.
tie north and little west of Turn Hall, so
that we all know where the centre of pop
ulation is at present in Ottawa, and We
know that two-thirds of the manufacturing
lies north of the central point, or Jackson
street, say, which runs east and west along
the south side of Turn Hall, and those liv-
ing south of Jackson street are in the south
half of Ottawa, and those living north of
Jackson street are in the north half OF OF
tawa. And more grain is bought and shipped
III NOTtu OltaNd luau III DOuln OttdNd
The post office is one block south of the
central line and the court house square Is
in South Ottawa, and where live on the
blsff is about the same distance from the
center of Ottawa Turn HalD as Mr.. Pritch-
ards residence, south of the Illinois river.
We hope to be excused for continuing our
by stating that, taking jackson
street as the central east and west line,
North Ottawa, with half the population of
the city, by reason of the gerrymandering
of the court house square rings, and cliques
have so arranged the wards that North
Ottawa has only three aldermen in the city
council; and since have seen the vote on
the question of submitting the question Of
exchanging the old lots of the city, opposite
Egans stables, tor their present location,
a block of land, near the centre of the city,
at the Wednesday meeting of the council,
| am afraid that two of those do not repre-
sent their wards, but are, with others, hug
ging the court house, and with the alder.
men from East Ottawa, and the two south
OF the river representing ward with 202
houses In Il by actual COUNT are clQued